The City of Milwaukee is teaming up with two legal groups as the FBI continues its investigation into the 2020 presidential election here.
The move comes as federal agents have sought interviews with several Milwaukee election officials and staffers who helped administer the 2020 election at a time the Trump administration is relitigating his 2020 loss to former President Joe Biden in Wisconsin and other battleground states.
At least two Milwaukee police officers have also been interviewed.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson quickly signed a resolution authorizing the city attorney to work with outside counsel for election-related needs. which was the Milwaukee Common Council unanimously approved on June 2.
“It was signed within hours of it passing the council,” said Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for the mayor.
City Attorney Evan Goyke has “negotiated legal services agreements with the Public Rights Project and The Washington Litigation Group to represent and advise the City on election-related matters on a pro bono basis, at no charge to the City,” the resolution said.
It also noted that the city previously partnered with the Public Rights Project in 2025 for litigation related to public grants. The group’s website says it “provides litigation support, legal representation, and training to help local governments officials protect their communities.”
The Washington Litigation Group’s website said it “represents individuals and institutions who have been unlawfully targeted for exercising their rights, and we bring affirmative litigation to curb governmental overreach.”
Neither organization immediately responded to requests for interviews about their work with the city.
The two groups were first reported by Urban Milwaukee.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley also said the county has partnered with outside attorneys.
Many of the FBI interviews are expected to focus largely on the City of Milwaukee’s central count location on election night, sources have told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Part of the questioning surrounds an incident when former Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall left a flash drive in one of the voting machines, the sources said. The incident became fodder for conspiracy theories about the validity of the election outcome.
The flash drive was never left unattended by other staff members, and one of them provided it to a police officer so it could be taken to the county clerk’s office.
Woodall has declined to comment about the FBI probe.
The Journal Sentinel first reported last month that the FBI was investigating Wisconsin’s 2020 election and that an agent had spoken with the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s deputy administrator, Robert Kehoe.
The federal investigation is in a preliminary phase, and no ballots had been seized in Wisconsin, sources have told the Journal Sentinel.
An FBI spokesman declined to comment.
The FBI activity comes after federal investigators seized hundreds of boxes tied to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia. Concerns have also grown after FBI issued a grand jury subpoena in March for voting information in Maricopa County, Arizona.
Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election. A recount in two Wisconsin counties that Trump’s campaign paid for, court rulings, a state audit and a conservative review have confirmed that Trump lost.
Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin in 2020 by about 21,000 votes.
The city’s resolution noted the scrutiny over the 2020 election in Milwaukee and referenced the upcoming midterm elections.
“The November 2026 midterm and gubernatorial elections are anticipated to receive greater scrutiny than most elections due to expected high voter turnout and potential legal challenges to follow,” it said.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee teams up with two legal groups amid 2020 election probe
Reporting by Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
